Friday of the First Week in Lent

Only when one is barefoot can one feel the stones underfoot. — Hasidic Teaching

I love to walk in the early mornings on a long stretch of beach. I disobey my orthopedist and walk barefoot, listen to the rythm of the waves, and wade in the ocean. Occasionaly, I come upon a bed of shells or rocks. I must delicately cross to continue on my journey. I do so slowly and gingerly feeling the shells and stones with each step.

My walk across the shells and the Hasidic teaching relect part of our life’s journey. Regardless of our relationship with God, it is we who must place one foot in front of the other. Sometimes tired, feeling the pain of each step along the way, we must move forward nonetheless. To not move across the stones we become paralyzed and swept backwards by the winds of why, so regardless of the pain we advance, and with each painful step we are closer to the smooth sand, the waves, and the calming effect of the ocean.

In the Hebrew tradition when one gets up from the first seven days of mourning, one symbolically walks around the block as a re-entry to life. Lent is our tradition of re-entry into a life of companionship with God. Let’s all take that walk.

Webb

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About the author

Webb Hubbell is the former Associate Attorney General of The United States. His novels, When Men Betray, Ginger Snaps, A Game of Inches, The Eighteenth Green, and The East End are published by Beaufort Books and are available online or at your local bookstore. When Men Betray won one of the IndieFab awards for best novel in 2014. Ginger Snaps and The Eighteenth Green won the IPPY Awards Gold Medal for best suspense/thriller. His latest, “Light of Day” will be on the bookstands soon.